The AONE
Blues’n’Brews Cruise
Saturday, October 5
Here’s an exciting new twist for the annual AONE Fall Tour! On Saturday, October 5th, we’ll be embarking on
the AONE Blues‘n’Brews Cruise! First, we’ll meet up at 11AM
in Westford, MA (in the central northeast part of the Commonwealth) for one of tourmaster
Kevin Murphy’s patented scenic tours/rallies around some back roads in that part of
the state. Kevin will throw in a few challenging but fun twists, and prizes will be
awarded when we return to the Westford starting point. From there, we’ll walk en
masse across the street to Kimball Farm, the site of…
The First Annual Central Massachusetts Blues‘n’Brews Festival!
This event will feature several of the best area blues bands—we’re
talking Jay Geils, the Fat City Band, and many more blues headliners! In addition, over 15
New England microbreweries will be set up providing samples of their wares. There will
also be various types of food available, including Oktoberfest fare and (of course)
barbecue. It’s all held outdoors under tents, surrounded by a huge grassy area. For
lots more info on the Festival, visit www.bluesnbrews.com.
Kimball Farm is quite well known around Central Massachusetts.
It’s an enormous site that offers a 9-hole pitch & putt course, driving range, a
best-anywhere mini-golf course, and some incredible bumper boats. And they also have
(arguably) the world’s best ice cream! Visit www.kimballfarm.com.
Festival tickets are regularly $25 at the door (which includes
admission, a commemorative pint glass, a free raffle ticket, and ten 4-ounce tastes).
However, we’ve arranged an advance group price with the Festival organizers of $20
(or $10 if you don’t want to taste). The Festival runs from 1PM to 7PM. You can stay
for the whole festival, stay for a little while, or go home after the tour if
Blues’n’Brews isn’t your thing. A good plan would be to hit the Festival,
enjoy some BBQ and a few tastes, and then relax listening to the great music for a while
before hitting the road. Bring along a blanket or lawn chairs and chill out on the big
lawn.
To help us coordinate with the Festival people, please
contact Kevin Murphy now to indicate that you’ll be going and/or with any
questions. He can be reached at 508-879-1881 or xpertcool@aol.com.
This event was put together just as this issue was going to press, so please check
back to this web page for any changes!
This is going to be a blast! The Festival organizers have even
agreed to reserve an Alfa-only parking area for 20-30 cars for us when we return from our
tour! What could be more grand?
Directions: From I-495 take the Route 119 exit (number 31)
toward Groton/Littleton Common. Turn left onto Route 110 (King Street). In about a mile,
pull into the parking lot on the left across the street from Kimball Farm. See
you Saturday at 11:00! 
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Italian
Car Drive Through the Back Roads to Deerfield, MA
Sunday, October 6th
Two caravans of Italian cars
will travel from the western suburbs of Boston and from north central CT, converging in
Ware, MA. From there, the entire contingent of Italian cars will continue through the
countryside, through Amherst and on to Deerfield. After a stop in Deerfield, we will drive
west on Route 116, then north on Route 112, then east on Route 2 to Shelburne Falls
[gorgeous roads! —Ed.], where we will make a stop. We will
return to Deerfield, and then caravan back home.
The Massachusetts caravan, to be led by Mike Sassaman in his Fiat Dino Spider, will meet
at the McDonald's on MA Route 126 off Exit 18 of I-495. This caravan will depart at 10:00
am. The Connecticut caravan will meet at Danny O'Donnell's Fun Imported Auto and Toys, 143
Tunnel Rd, Vernon, CT off of Exit 66 of I-84, departing at 10:30 am. Please RSVP to Tim at
beeblet@umich.edu
to help plan the event and anticipate your arrival. Contacts: Danny O'Donnell
860-871-1990. Mike Sassaman 508-533-7027. Sounds like fun!
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October 18-19
This is one of Ed.’s favorites!
It’s a very low-key vintage racing event, at one of the nation’s most scenic
race tracks, on a weekend when there’s still much fall foliage to enjoy on the ride
out and back. Low-key doesn’t describe the on-track action, though, as there are
upwards of a hundred great old race cars slugging it out just like in days gone by. For
more info, visit www.limerock.com.
No crowds, easy parking, lots of great historic cars to admire up close and on the race
track. Just do it!
Update #1: We just
learned that the VSCCA Fall Finale at Lime Rock is going to have a little competition. And
we don't mean on-track competition -- we mean competition for track time with them good
ol' NASCAR boys. Here's an excerpt from the Lime Rock web site:
"Due to on- and off-track safety concerns caused by a
consistent light rain Saturday, NASCAR Busch North Series officials postponed the Burnham
Boilers 200 until Saturday, Oct. 19.
"The rescheduled Busch North Series season finale will be run
in conjunction with a Vintage Sports Car Club of America date.
"Busch North Series practice is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 10
a.m., qualifying will be held from noon to 12:45 p.m., and the 82-lap Burnham Boilers 200
is tentatively scheduled for 3:30 p.m."
So the VSCCA racing would conceivably be from about 10-12 and 1-3.
There will be LOTS of NASCAR types in attendance, and there will probably be a fairly
steep admission charge. Please visit www.limerock.com to learn more about this scheduling change,
and make your plans accordingly.
Update #2: This just in from AONE President Tom Lesko:
Regarding admission prices for this weekend, I just spoke with a
representative from Lime Rock Park. I was told that anyone who explains to the admissions
person that they are there to see the Vintage Race would be given the original price
admission ticket for the VSCCA races, and it would not be increased due to the Busch
series race. She also explained that most people who would be there for the Busch series
race already has tickets from last weekend. So ... make sure to tell the admissions person
that you are there for the VSCCA races (...and have no interest in the good 'ol boys...).
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AONE Tour of Paul
Russell and Company
Saturday, November 9
Updated 05/19/03!
Do NOT miss this! On Saturday, November 9th at 10AM, AONE members will be given a private tour of Paul
Russell’s state-of-the-art restoration facility located in Essex, Massachusetts. As
most of you know, Paul Russell is one of the most highly regarded automobile restorers in
the United States. After working several years for various independent shops, Paul opened
his own shop in Topsfield in 1978 under the name of "Gullwing Service Company,
Inc.", catering to Mercedes-Benz cars from the 1950s. Since the mid-1980s, "Paul
Russell and Company" restorations have been consistently winning awards from Pebble
Beach to Castle Hill. One of Paul’s best known restorations is Ralph Lauren’s
1938 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic Coupe (known for its amazing riveted "spine"),
which is parked in their reception area alongside a 1934 Bugatti Type 59GP.
Last year, I had the privilege of touring the facility, and
thoroughly enjoyed every minute, not to mention the dozens of extremely rare and beautiful
cars all around the shop.
Briefly, here is how the tour will go. To begin, we are lured away
from the Bugattis in the reception area, to the coffee and doughnuts in the mechanical
shop area. After our coffee and some socializing, the tour begins. We start with the
fabrication shop. It is amazing to see complex panels being made from scratch that would
otherwise be impossible to obtain. These skills, and some of the equipment, hark back to
the coachbuilding days of the 20s and 30s.
Next, we enter the body shop. This is where we see a Ferrari 250 GTO
completely stripped down to bare metal (it may still be there!) This area is "high
tech" to ensure super quality paintwork, as well addressing environmental issues. We
also see a well-stocked paint room as well as a BMW 507 in primer. Several other rare
sports cars are in various stages of bodywork. Looking at these cars gives us a rare
glimpse at how they were built.
Adjacent to the body shop and mechanical shop, we see the parts
cleaning room. It is filled with a wide variety of chemical baths and media blasting
cabinets. Check out the car-sized sandblasting room!
Next, we see the largest area in the facility: the mechanical shop.
Restoration projects as well as cars in for routine service adorn this area. It features
eight work bays, five hydraulic lift bays, a second paint booth (for small components),
and a room dedicated to rebuilding engines and transmissions. There are some gorgeous
engines here—ready to go!
Next, we step into the upholstery shop. Along with rebuilding seats,
door panels, and convertible tops, they can produce a set of custom luggage that
duplicates the missing set that originally came with your 1929 Hispano Suiza!
Last but certainly not least is a walk through the back storage
area. Here we see some more Ralph Lauren cars, as well as an Aston Martin DB6, 1949
Ferrari Barchetta, 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB, Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster, and a 1940 Ford
Woody, to name a few. For the next hour or so, we all roam around the shop, looking at
everything for a second and often third time. It is a great experience! If you still
aren’t convinced or can’t wait for the actual tour, check out their web site at www.paulrussellandco.com.
The tour is limited to 50
people, so RSVP is mandatory. Please contact Jim Miga by October 29th at 781-729-7567 or via email at jmiga@gis.net.
We will meet at Paul Russell and Company at 10AM in the reception area. A $5-per-person
donation will be requested at the door to help defray expenses and support our club.
Click here for printable directions.
See you there!
—Jim Miga
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